Lithuania Through the Eyes of U.S. Embassy Officials, Interns, Guests and Friends

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Trakai

For our first full weekend in Lithuania, J.T., Domenico, and
I (aka the new American interns) went to Trakai with some of the diplomats from
the Embassy. Trakai is a city steeped in
medieval history and dotted with lakes—and since it’s only about a half-hour
car ride from Vilnius, it’s a popular lake resort too. There’s evidence to suggest that Trakai has
been settled since the first millennium AD, and during the reign of Vytautas
the Great Trakai was the center of activity in the Lithuanian empire. Once Vilnius began to grow, Trakai slowly
lost its significance and was destroyed by the Cossacks during the 1655
invasion. Still, even the ruins of
Trakai served as a symbol of the national revival of the nineteenth century,
and the city was never forgotten.
Ironically enough, it was under Soviet rule in the 1950’s when it was
announced that the city would be rebuilt and restored—and it is because of
these improvements that Trakai is the cultural attraction we see today.

Our first stop in Trakai was the Trakai Island Castle, built
during the rule of Vytautas the Great (known as a national hero) and restored
in 1987. A long wooden footbridge
connects the island on which the castle rests to the shore, and boats of all
kinds are available to rent for use on Lake Galvė in between. There’s a path that covers the circumference
of the island, and a path to take into the castle—complete with a moat and
bridge. The castle is huge and houses a
history museum that displays everything from clothes to medieval armor, most of
which is older than America! (No big deal, right?) You
can climb all the way up to the Ducal Palace’s keep, which is 100 feet high and
gives a great view of the rest of the castle as well as the lake surrounding
it. In one section of the castle there
was even a contemporary art exhibit, an example that I think symbolizes
Lithuania perfectly: the place boasts modern ingenuity even within its famed
rustic historical exterior.

Next, we returned to the shore and walked along the main
streets of the city. Here, the
multicultural nature of the town is seen in the types of restaurants we
saw—with foods inspired by communities of Lithuanians, Polish, Russians,
Tartars, and Karaims. All of it looked
good, and we were all hungry! Cultural
influences can be seen by looking at the construction of things as well; for
example, in many areas that were settled by Karaim, the buildings have three
windows that face the street, a popular tradition for the community.

Our last stop was the Medieval Festival held at the old
Trakai Peninsula Castle right nearby. We
had to rush to the fair after eating because the guys wanted to catch the last
of the battle reenactments. It’s funny
to think about though, because here these duels are like our Civil War
reenactments at home—they’re not scripted to look like something out of a
movie, but instead are actually a part of the history and culture of the country. At this fair, the “soldiers” were actually
beating each other with axes and shields (something JT and Domenico found
really amusing) which made it more like a history lesson and less like
Disneyland. In the meantime, we also got
to look at all of the traditional handcrafted goods for sale and more, you
guessed it, food. In the center of the
fair we found a couple guys pushing an archaic-looking wooden horse in a circle
for kids to ride—but Domenico and JT wanted to ride too. The guys working the ride laughed when JT and
Domenico paid, and I can’t say what was more amusing: watching them ride a
horse made for kids under the age of ten or watching everyone else at the
fair’s reaction.

All in all, it was a really nice visit, and I think that the
pictures alone would make the trip worthwhile!

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